The Dark Knight of Riften
by KA XenoVerse
Summary: 4E 187: Arcturus and Gerda Vane are killed by a shadowy assailant in front of their child Bruscius Vane in the city of Riften. In him grew a darkness that no friend and no priest could expel. One that would be used to wage war on the scum of Skyrim. The Batman haunts Riften. No criminal is safe.


**Hey guys. This is something I've wanted to do for sometime: a written Batman build for Skyrim. Hope you enjoy the first chapter.**

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The Windhelm Butcher

13th Midyear, 4E 204

Susanna the Wicked finished her shift at the Candlehearth Hall in Windhelm at 11:45 pm, the 12th of Rain's Hand. She was last seen alive by passer-by at 11:55 pm. Her body was later discovered in the Windhelm Cemetery at 12:40 am. Countless civilians and guardsmen flooded the scene- the murderer among them. The infamous Windhelm Butcher had struck again.

I watched from a nearby rooftop as the city's Jarl arrived at the scene. He instructed everyone at the scene to go to their homes. A few minutes later, only a single guard remained, taking notes on the girl's dead body. Susanna the Wicked was well known in Windhelm as the friendly barmaid of Candlehearth. She caused nobody harm- any suffering. No one in the city had a solid motive for her murder. I quickly concluded that the murder was random.

Using the enchanted lenses on my cowl, I zoomed in on the scene. The girl was stripped to her undergarments. There was a large diagonal cut from her left shoulder to her breast. Her stomach was cut open and there were a few scars on her legs. This was definitely the work of the Butcher. The Butcher began their killing spree about a year ago. Now they had filled the graves of twelve girls counting Susanna. If anyone was to catch this killer, it was me.

I needed to observe the crime scene up close. I leaped from my perch and used my cape to glide to the girl's body. The guard appeared to see my bat-like shadow and jumped back with a shriek. When I landed, he drew his sword.

"W-what manner of daedra are you," he asked, pointing his sword at my face.

He was trembling in fear. Good. The whole point was to be feared.

"Move aside mortal," I commanded.

I added mortal for a theatrical flair and I liked to think that it was effective.

The guard courageously swung his blade at me but it was all for naught. I caught his blade with one hand and disarmed him. I tossed the weapon aside and pushed the guard to the right lightly.

I approached Susanna's corpse. She wasn't killed where she lay. There were no blood marks on the stone coffin she was placed on. But there was a trail of blood leading away from the scene. It became wider as it went along. Where the trail began was where I would find the sight of the murder.

The guard I had disarmed had since retrieved his sword and once again swung at me. I took out a Scroll of Rout from one of my pouches and cast the spell on the guardsman. He froze mid swing. The somewhat brave guardsman of questionable intelligence was now gone and in his place was a snivelling coward who ran in the direction of the Palace of Kings.

I had somewhat of a disdain for magic at the time but the few scrolls I kept on my person were useful in my crusade. I followed the blood trail out of the cemetery. On my way, I came across a middle aged man who, judging by his lack of shock or fear when laying eyes on me, was accustomed to odd happenings.

"Always sad when someone has to die," he said solemnly.

Interesting.

"Did you see what happened to the girl?" I asked.

"No I'm afraid not. I caught a glimpse of a hooded fellow running towards the Palace of Kings but I couldn't get a good look at his face."

A hooded fellow running towards the Palace of Kings? It sounded as if this man was pointing towards Windhelm's Court Mage. I left the man to his business but made a mental note to look into him later. I continued to follow the blood trail which eventually led me to the abandoned mansion of Hjerim. A daughter of the Shatter-Shield Clan had lived here two years ago. Friga if I recall. She was the first of the two daughters to die but the only one to be killed by the Butcher. The second girl was killed by…a man in the Dark Brotherhood. I took out a lockpick from one of my pouches and attempted to pick the door open. No use. The locks on Hjerim were state of the art. The only way I was going to get in was with a key, and I knew where to find one.

I brought myself to the residence of the Shatter-Shields. I had been there once before when I was…a different man. I was almost reluctant to set foot inside but the case was more important than my being comfortable. I parkoured up the estate with relative ease and slipped through an open window. I was in the room of Tova Shatter-Shield, the matriarch of the family. She lay on her bed, her eyes wide open yet unmoving; unaware of any disturbance. For her throat was slit by her own doing. The dagger that had taken her life lay beside her, on top of a suicide note. I picked the note up and read it.

"First Friga, now Nilsine? I have tried to cope with both tragedies but I simply do not possess the strength and the will to continue living. How can I bare the loss of a second daughter, when I'm barely over the death of a first?

My two little girls are gone. The lights of my life have been extinguished. My only hope is to be reunited with them in the halls of Sovngarde- if the eternals can suffer the company of one who has taken her own life. If not, then wherever my soul may end up- in Oblivion or elsewhere, it has to be better than this terrible existence.

Farewell my love. Remember me fondly and often."

I scrunched the note in my hands. The note was for her still very much alive husband. I felt nothing but remorse and pity. Three lives from this family, ended before their time. I wished Tova a peaceful sleep and closed her eyes before reaching into her bedside drawer and acquiring the key to Hjerim. I made to exit through the window when the patriarch Tobjorn opened the door.

To be fair, if I was in his situation, I would have jumped to the same conclusion.

As he looked on his wife's corpse and the man who seemed to be the killer perched on the windowsill he did what any proud Nord who had just chugged a barrel full of mead would do. He charged towards me in rage and barged me out of the window. I fell to the ground with a thud and struggled to get up. Tobjorn was soon outside and about to attack me again, this time with a mace.

I was injured. I couldn't afford to be hit by that mace even once. I took out an experimental smoke bomb from my pouch and smashed it on the ground. Tobjorn coughed on the smoke and struggled to see me. I quickly made my escape.

"You killed my wife you bastard!" he yelled in agony.

His wife and his two daughters were all dead. It was an understandable reaction.

I slumped against the wall near the Blacksmith's Forge and removed my cowl. This was shaping out to be a long night. I still had to investigate Hjerim.

I waited for ten minutes before setting off for Hjerim. I unlocked the door with the key and entered the long abandoned mansion. Who knew what I would find? I had to be prepared. The blood trail leading inside Hjerim suggested that the killer had found a way into the mansion. They most likely used it as their base of operations. The main hall was a mess with broken chairs scattered around the room, blood on the walls and floors- it definitely looked like the base of the killer and I had two references to go by.

There were a number of fliers around the room all with the same message:

Beware the Butcher!

The killer who haunts the streets of Windhelm!

These calamitous times bring out the worst in people, don't become the next victim!

See Viola Giordano if you spot any suspicious behaviour.

Well what do you know? The killer hated publicity. You'd think that someone who dumped bodies in public places wouldn't mind a few fliers. The Butcher was by no means a fool; otherwise they would have been caught by now. No…there was another use for the fliers. I got to thinking that they were narcissistic and possessed a compulsive need for attention. That would explain why they collected fliers detailing their effect on the city and why their murders were high profile. Maybe, just maybe.

I made my way over to a desk at the back of the room. There were more fliers on the shelves although there seemed to be a lump under one of them. I moved the fliers from the shelf and discovered an amulet shaped like a skull that gave off an eerie aura. I dropped it in my pouch and continued my investigation. There was a wardrobe to my right.

During my twenty-five years of life, I learned to always be suspicious of wardrobes. I opened the wardrobe and found it to be empty. I pressed my ear against the wardrobe and tapped on it with my knuckles. Hollow. I smashed the false back open and entered the secret room. There was an altar in the centre with skulls, bones and organs decorating it. There were embalming tools on the altar beside two journals. The tools on the table matched the patterns of the scars on Susanna's body. I turned my attention to the journals. One of them was filled with irate nonsense while the other was quite useful. It made mention of an earlier attempt on Susanna's life that was thwarted due to the appearance of a guard. It also mentioned that the killer was experimenting. The killer also mentioned that they had studied magic in Winterhold. The Court Mage Wuunferth was infamous for never shutting up about his 'glory days' in the College of Winterhold. He was also infamous due to rumours of him taking part in necromancy. Before I confronted Wuunferth, I needed to get the amulet checked out.

A few hours later when the sun had fully risen, I had taken the guise of Bruscius Vane of Riften. I had heard of a museum that could have any object identified. I went there with the intention of finding out about the strange amulet. I knocked on 'Calixto's House of Curiosities' and entered. There, standing behind the front desk was Calixto, the man I had made a mental note to investigate later. How lucky.

"You're Calixto yes?" I asked in a light and slightly ditzy voice.

"I am indeed. What can I do for you Mister Vane?"

I was put a little off guard at how quickly he made me but I supposed that he recognised my heritage due to the famous Vane Family Amulet draped around my neck.

"I was wondering what you could tell me about this amulet," I said, placing the amulet on the desk.

Calixto picked up the amulet and inspected it closely.

"Ah, this is a Wheelstone. It's been in Windhelm for generations, supposed to be in possession of the Court Mage."

The Court Mage? Here he was again, unintentionally placing Wuunferth as my number one suspect.

"I'd be very interested in having this in my collection. Would you mind handing it over for say, 500 gold?" he asked.

"500? You should learn to bid higher when talking to a billionaire. I'll be on my way. Thank you for your help."

14th Rain's Hand, 4E 204

I infiltrated the Palace of Kings after midnight through an entrance I made two years ago while escaping prison. I made my way into the barracks where I was met with three guards. The first guard attempted to bash me with his shield to stun me before stabbing me but I ducked. I grabbed his waist and threw him into the second guard. The third guard was visibly shaken by my costumed appearance. I exploited his fear and took him down with ease. Within a minute, I was in Wuunferth's quarters where he was sitting down.

"What are you-," Wuunferth began before I cut him off.

"I've heard you dabble in necromancy."

Wuunferth was visibly taken aback by the question but quickly regained his composure.

"I beg your pardon? Necromancy? I am a member of the College of Winterhold! In good standing. They haven't allowed necromancy in hundreds of years," he argued, quite offended by my statement.

"I found your journals and amulet where the Butcher worked."

"My what now? I've never kept a journal, I can assure you. Show me this amulet."

I reached for the amulet in my pouch and tossed it to the old mage who studied it with as much detail as Calixto had earlier. He quickly came to a conclusion.

"This is undoubtedly the famed Necromancer's Amulet of legend. There is indeed necromancy involved. At least you were half right. I myself have been looking into the murders and have noticed a pattern of sorts," Wuunferth said.

I stayed silent and he continued.

He went on to say that the Butcher was preforming some sort of necromantic ritual. He mentioned various dates that murders took place on and determined that the next one would occur later that night. And so I waited until the sun rose and fell again. Wuunferth told me to patrol the Stone Quarter. I looked around and saw movement around the market stalls. A High Elven woman was walking alone. It was then that I saw the killer for the first time. And I cursed myself for only letting a little bit of evidence cloud my judgement. It was Calixto. It should have been so obvious. Strapped to his belt were two embalming tools and in his hands, a dagger. He would have claimed another victim if not for mine and Wuunferth's intervention. I leaped from the rooftops and landed in front of Calixto. I scowled at him as he realised it was over. Unless he could kill me of course.

I punched him in the face which caused him to stumble backwards onto his back. I picked him up by the throat and was about to knock him out when he stabbed me in the hip. Blood gushed from my wound as Calixto tried to make his escape. Any normal man would faint during these circumstances but I worked through the pain. I chased after Calixto and cornered him at the Blacksmith's Forge.

"It's over Calixto," I said.

"It is. For you!" he yelled as he charged towards me with his dagger.

I grabbed Calixto's wrist and head-butted him. I kicked him which caused him to fall to the floor. The Butcher crawled to the forge and leaned against it before getting up.

"What are you?" he asked.

"I'm the Batman."

With a merciless right hook, I knocked the Butcher back into the forge, setting him ablaze. He screamed in pain with the name Lucilla on his lips. He died shortly after.

"You killed him," the elf said.

"A fitting end for his kind," I commented before taking my leave.

It was revealed to the populace that Calixto Corrium was the Windhelm Butcher when the High Elf gave a report. She made mention of what appeared to be a bat-like daedra that saved her from the Butcher's knife. Tobjorn Shatter-Shield had also reported a bat-like creature had murdered his wife but swift investigation into the case revealed that Tova had taken her own life. Despite witness reports from the elf, Tobjorn and a guardsman, the bat was merely considered an urban legend. Nevertheless, a bounty was opened for the Bat-Man, dead or alive for the murder of Calixto Corrium.

I entered Calixto's home with a key I found on his body. I looked around for anything that would give me insight into a motive for the killing spree. I eventually came across another of his journals. I found out that the Lucilla he had mentioned was his sister who had died sometime in the past. All of the murders were committed for a ritual to give her new life. Using bones and organs from his victims, he planned to create a new body to hold her spirit. He was insane. Grief stricken but insane nonetheless. And with that, I closed the case of the Windhelm Butcher, making sure a barrel load of septims made their way to the quarters of Wuunferth the Unliving.

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**Thanks for reading. Next chapter is titled: Origin Part 1 - Vengeance.**


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